Voloridge Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,707 shares of the bank's stock after selling 60,903 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $14,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CFR. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,814,000 after purchasing an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth about $389,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,884,000 after buying an additional 66,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CFR. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE CFR traded up $0.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $128.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $119.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.90. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. The company had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 43.91%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services.